


Trade Secrets

by alldaytrash



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Fake/Pretend Relationship, Getting Back Together, M/M, Mutual Pining, Not Canon Compliant, Pining Keith (Voltron), Secret Relationship, extremely mild smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-09
Updated: 2020-08-09
Packaged: 2020-11-28 06:10:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 12,357
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20961767
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alldaytrash/pseuds/alldaytrash
Summary: When Keith left to join the blade he broke Lance's heart. Now he's back and has to face his secret boyfriend turned secret ex. And that's just the beginning.***Mildly based on cannon events, expect awkward moments and pining.





	1. The Beginning of the End

Keith could see the castle in the distance, it was still another varga out, but he wished it was further. It’s been at least 9 phebes since he left to join the blade, but Shiro’s arm was somehow lost, so they need a fill-in black paladin until they can make him a new one. 

When the call came through Keith almost hoped that Kolivan would say no. As selfish as that was. 

He had been to the castle a couple of times since joining, but his memory of it was tainted by the way Lance’s face had crumpled when he said he was leaving. By the yelling, screaming, crying match they had had when he had first decided to leave and then again a week later, the night before his departure. 

He and Lance had fallen together naturally, being the only two that didn’t have to do diplomacy stuff or tech stuff during downtime, they ended up spending a lot of time together. Their constant fighting turned to playful bickering, from rivals to friends to something more. They had been together for nearly a year and a half when Keith had broken both of their hearts.

Long-distance would be impossible, and Keith couldn’t not go. So that had been that. 

The others never knew, both Lance and Keith had wanted to say something but there was never a good time, and they still thought the two hated each other. Before they knew it they had been together for nearly a year and it felt too late to tell them. So they just didn’t. 

Now they were secret ex’s. 

_ At least the others would be right about them hating each other for once _ , Keith thought bitterly. 

The castle was now in front of him, and he had no choice but to dock. Keith took a deep breath before getting out of his seat, he wouldn’t let Lance ruin this for him. 

Keith carefully stepped out of the small ship and saw that everyone had come down to welcome him. There was a quiet moment where the two parties seemed to take the other in. Hunk was the first to break it, stepping forward and sweeping Keith into a bone-crushing hug.

Moments later he was in the centre of a group hug and couldn’t help but smile. 

He was home.

“It’s so good to see you Keith,” Allura was the one to end the hug.

“Same to you princess,” Keith was still smiling.

“If I had known all it would take to get you back was destroying Shiro’s arm, I would have done so ages ago.” Pidge’s smiled.

“I thought it was lost?” Keith asked.

“Lost, broken, completely destroyed during a minor upgrade, same difference”

The whole group laughed at that, “Drop your stuff off in your room, and come to the kitchen.” Hunk smiled, “I’ve got something special for lunch.”

The group all walked off towards the kitchen, leaving Keith to get his stuff from the ship in peace, but Shiro lingered behind. He looked weird without his robot arm, and it made Keith's stomach churn. 

“It's good to have you back,” Shiro smiled, clapping his good hand on Keith's shoulder when he turned around, “I’ve missed you… I think we all have.”

“I’ve missed you guys too.”

“You know you didn’t have you leave,” guilt-filled Shiro’s voice.

“Yeah, but I wanted to. I needed to figure this half Galra stuff out, spend some time with my mum,” Keith's voice felt small, “I was more useful to the blade, and I liked getting to do solo missions.”

It was a cop-out, and they both knew it even if no one said anything. 

“I am glad to be back though,” Keith added, and that seemed to make Shiro happy.

“Good. Now go drop your stuff off, I’m starving.”

***

Keith’s room was just as he left it. The small desk and every wall covered in small momentos. He spent a few minutes finding a place for the new momento’s he had brought back and put his clothes away. He knew the others were waiting for him, but he needed a few moments to himself to think, to absorb it all.

It felt surreal being back. 

Keith had daydreamed about this many times. Coming back to the castle and finding places for all the bits and bobs he’s collected in his room. Coming home.

Keith never knew homesickness until he went to the blade, and he hated it. 

Over time the others in the blade had become friends, he even had a couple of close friends. But the paladins were family. Shiro had been his brother for a long time. Coran was like a weird uncle. Allura an older sister. Pidge and Hunk were like younger siblings constantly getting in trouble. Then there was Lance, who was... Lance. 

***

“This is fantastic!” Keith practically moaned into his lunch, “I missed your cooking so much Hunk.”

“Thanks Keith,” Hunk laughed nervously. 

"You'll have to cook for some of the people I know at the blade sometime. They would probably cry," Keith smiled.

"I'm not sure about that."

“No, really,” Keith smirked, “A few phebes ago, my team were invited to a banquet on a planet we just saved, and Ebyssa had started crying tears of joy at the table,” he stopped to chuckle at the memory. “Like actually crying, which kicked off a whole slow clap thing and a standing ovation from the rest of the team.”

“Wow”

“Yeah, the Galra are wild.”

“Any other good stories?” Pidge asked.

“Well, they’re into cuddle piles. Like they have regular movie nights where they’ll just all lay on each other, which is comfier than it sounds. Really scared me the first time I went to one though.” Keith smiled at the memory.

“Cuddling?” everyone seemed surprised. 

“That’s unexpected,” Coran said.

“Yeah, the last thing you expect from a race of soldiers,” Hunk added.

“It’s true though,” Keith grinned, “My room there has six pillows.”

“Is that… better than one” Allura seemed most confused by the prospect.

“Undoubtedly. I might even have to raid the castle for spares.”

“So we’ve been out fighting and scrubbing it with one pillow, while Mr Six Pillows here has been living in the lap of luxury.” It was the first time Lance had spoken, and Keith’s attention snapped to him. Their eyes locked momentarily and Keith couldn’t count the emotions which flashed across Lance’s face. 

“I wouldn’t say that,” Keith countered, breaking eye contact, “I slept in a sleeping bag on missions more often than at the base.”   


“That’s still cool!” Pidge exclaimed, “We have access to Galra trade secrets.”

The rest of the lunch followed suit, each taking turns asking what life with the Galra was like. Keith told them what sort of missions he went on, how the teams changed depending on what the mission was, but would generally involve the same people. That they were vegetarian, which was definitely a surprise.

*** 

That night Keith couldn't sleep.

He found himself walking to the kitchen late at night partly for a drink but mostly just for something to do. Something to distract his mind.

“Hey,” Lance's voice was soft when he entered the room, “Can’t sleep either?”

“No,” Keith admitted and took the glass of water Lance was offering, “It’s just weird being back.”

“Not enough pillows?” Lance teased.

“No.” Keith felt his face heat up, “I actually found extras.”

Lance let out a hearty laugh, and it was so normal that for a second Keith was a year ago, when everything was good between them. Better than good.

“Listen…” Keith started, unsure.

“Don’t.” It was a warning.

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t you dare.”

“No. I’m not- This isn’t- I know I’m the one who messed everything up. And you’re allowed to hate me for that. I’m- I’m not sorry for leaving. I had to and you know that. I just...” Keith took a deep breath and searched Lance’s face while trying to work out what to say. Lance looked like he wanted to run out the door, “I am sorry for the way I handled things. I could’ve done better and I’m dumb as shit when it comes to this stuff. I just don’t want you to hate me forever.”

A thousand emotions seemed to fly across Lance’s face before he slumped forward, resting his head against Keith’s shoulder. “I could never hate you. I just… I don’t… It’s hard.”

“Yeah,” Keith hummed, unsure of whether he was allowed to rub Lance’s back.

“It was a long time ago now, and I’m sure we’ve both moved on.” Lance sounded more like he was trying to convince himself than anything else, “Why don’t we just try going back to being friends?”

“That sounds nice,” Keith smiled. 

The two of them stood like that in silence for a while, just enjoying each others company.

***

It had been a week since Keith returned, and this was their first mission. A diplomacy mission. Keith had forgotten how much he hated these, too many stuffy nobles, too much polite small talk, and not enough stabbing. 

As he watched Lance shamelessly flirt with the local princess across the hall, Keith couldn’t help but feel like some stabbing would be good right now. He had spent a long time telling himself he was over Lance, and yet here he was, watching him over some nobles shoulder, trying hard not to fall into memories of a time when Lance had looked at him like that.

“Attention everyone!” The queen announced from her thrown at the end of the room, “I have had a wonderful evening but unfortunately our evening must now come to a close as we have a busy morning tomorrow organising the details our alliance with Voltron!” She paused for the room to cheer and applaud, “I look forward to seeing many of you at the Great Senhada next phebe!”

Keith took that as his queue to make his way back towards the castle, and the others seemed to have the same idea as they had all reached the castle entrance at the same time. 

“So what's a, uh, great sahana? Sehenda?” Hunk tried to remember what the queen had said.

“Ah, the Great Senhada,” Coran sighed wistfully, “A great event which delegates from all over attend to represent the planet or people. Only occurs once every 50 years.”

“Sounds fun,” Keith commented dryly.

“Oh, it is,” Coran wasn’t put off by Keith’s tone, “There are many activities and competitions, from battle arenas to cook-offs. The whole thing is publicly broadcast. During each phase, couples get knocked out, until there is one left standing at the end of the phebe long event.”

“It takes a whole month?” 

“So it’s like a reality show?”

“Yes, and from what you’ve told me of reality shows, yes,” Coran admitted.

“So are we going,” Lance smiled wide, “I can’t give up a chance to be on TV.”

“Uh,” Coran faltered.

“While we have been invited, it’s a couples only event. As in  _ couple _ couples.” Allura explained, “Many planets have lead up competitions, since each is only able to send one couple. Asking someone to go to Senhada with you is seen as the ultimate declaration of love.”

“Oh,” Lance was pale, as was the rest of the team.

“However, I do wish we could send a pair. Since it is such a high profile event it will be a good advertisement for the cause.” Allura paused to look around the group, “That and there will be many high ranking individuals there, and it would be a prime opportunity for Galra attack.” 

“They wouldn’t!” Coran was scandalized.

“Couldn’t we send a fake couple?” Pidge asked.

“Maybe,” Allura seemed apprehensive, “But if anyone found out it would be a disaster, they would have to be comfortable being very physically and emotionally intimate in front of a lot of people.”

“Ew,” was Pidge’s only response, and at that the group split up. Keith went to the training deck, he still felt like he needed to stab something.


	2. Conscription

It was a few weeks later, and Keith was happy to say they had done a few real missions. Everyone had settled quickly into a new routine after the initial disruption of his arrivals, and it reminded him of how things had been before he left.

The main difference is that he and Lance didn’t spend much time together. They were getting along fine, but things still felt stilted and awkward. They rarely spent any time together before one of them made an excuse to leave the room. When the others were around it was harder to get away, but just the other day Keith had been in the kitchen when Lance walked in saw Keith said,_ ‘Hey, good to see ya’ _ and then immediately turned around and left the room. 

Not that Keith was any better. 

He was worried the rest would catch on, demand they explain their weird behaviour. So when Allura asked for Lance and himself to come to the bridge, he was sure that they were finally caught out. However, when he got to the bridge Allura looked happy, not pissed off as he was expecting. 

_ They did never catch on before, _ Keith mused_. _

“Excellent, your both here,” She smiled wide but her eyes were cautious, “I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about the Great Senhada. And I’ve decided that we will send a fake couple, as Pidge suggested.”

“Isn’t that a bit risky?” Keith asked at the same time as Lance asked, “But what if they get caught?”

“You are both right. It will be a very delicate mission and under no circumstances can we be found out.” She paused for a moment, her eyes darting between the two boys, “Which is why I have put a great deal of thought into our fake couple will be.”

“Who?” Lance asked, but Keith had a sinking feeling in his gut that he already knew.

“We need two paladins with a history of working well together and have been on countless missions together, so they can play the part.” She paused to see if Lance would say anything, and continued when he didn’t, “Their strengths should be in combat, in case something does go wrong and to help with the challenges.”

“That could be any of us,” Lance insisted, but his voice was weak.

“I’m talking about you and Keith.” Allura was resolute, even though he saw it coming Keith felt himself blanch at her words, “You two have always been our best team. I know its been a while but I have every confidence you can do it.”

“Yeah, okay,” Lance resigned. They had long since learned not to argue with Allura once she had made up her mind about something.

“That's the spirit,” Allura ignored his tone, “Now I will leave you two here for a bit to figure out what your story will be while I let the others know.”

“How long do we have?” Keith asked.

“Until the event? About one earth week,” Allura replied before shutting the door behind her.

“Fan-freaking-tastic,” Lance plopped onto the floor, “Ain’t this just the greatest news.”

“I’m not any happier about this than you are,” Keith sat on the floor a little way from Lance.

They both sat pointedly not looking at each other for a few moments before Keith decided to try to lighten the mood a little, “At least coming up with a story will be easy.”

“Are you suggesting we use the _ truth _?” Lance looked at him incredulously, “And what? Just pretend like the whole horrible break-up thing never happened?”

There was a beat of silence before Lance spoke again, “Actually, that would be perfect.”

“That's what I was thinking,” Keith smiled.

Another silence fell over them. When it was obvious Allura wasn’t coming back anytime soon Lance spoke up again, “What sort of challenges do you think there will be?”

“Oh god,” Keith ran a hand down his face, “Let’s just hope there isn’t actually a cook-off.”

Lance barked out a laugh, “Do you remember that time we tried to make Hunk a birthday cake?”

“Oh god,” Keith was laughing now too, “It tasted horrible, and the mess. Oh god, the mess.”

“We were banned from the kitchen for a whole month.” Lance’s smile turned mischievous, “Let's just be glad they never found exactly what we did with some of those cooking utensils_ . _ Otherwise, I’m sure we still wouldn’t be allowed back”

Keith blushed a bright red and laughed harder in response. 

***

_ Traitor_, Keith glared into the back of Shiro’s head as he enthusiastically agreed with Allura that he and Lance would be the best people for the mission.

So far everyone had thought it was a great idea, but Keith had a sneaking suspicion that they were just glad it wasn’t them who had to go. Apparently he and Lance had a week of social etiquette lessons from Coran ahead, which he already hated. 

“Hey, it won't be that bad,” Hunk came up beside him, “Just think of it as a big party with a bunch of fun challenges.”

“Yeah,” Pidge agreed, “It’s not like you two actually have to _ do _ anything.”

“Not so fast there number five,” Coran stomped on Keiths hope, “Although the last Great Senhada I saw was over ten thousand years ago, there was definitely lots of kissing involved then. Many races mate for life, so sealing your partnership with a kiss is a good way of filtering out fake couples.” 

“Fantastic,” Keith tried to keep his voice dry and sarcastic, but his pulse was erratic and he was almost afraid the others would be able to hear it. 

“Is there anything else we should be aware of?” Lance sounded bored, but he was fiddling with his fingers in that way he does when he’s nervous about something. 

“Not that we are aware of,” Coran smiled, “We’ve sent the confirmation so hopefully they will send us a reply with some general details in the next couple of vargas, but we still won't know much until the day before the Great Senhada begins.”

“What do you mean ‘Already sent the confirmation’?” 

“Well, you know,” Coran was suddenly looked nervous, but Allura spoke up before he could say any more.

“What’s done is done,” Allura interjected, earning a pointed glare from both Lance and Keith, “You two now get to learn about the cultures of the 99 other participating cultures, and you will need all the time you can get.”

“Uuuuuugh,” Lance groaned, “I hate it already.”

***

The next week was a whirlwind of facts and lessons for Lance and Keith. The Arkox and Meldor would both take huge offence to someone touching their partner and the Guurqral went as far as never making eye contact with anyone other than their significant other. 

The Egun found wearing purple on the first day of the week offensive.

The Ixell smelt terrible and it should not be mentioned.

Always comment on the size of a Koheal.

Ahmurs, Yeela, and Noscad all had extremely strong gender roles while no species from the Krat'id galaxy had any concept of gender.

Keith didn’t know how he was expected to remember which alien belonged to which race, let alone how to avoid deeply offending them.

“Well that about wraps it up,” Coran smiled brightly at Keith and Lance who were sitting behind small desks. Well, Lance was more slumped over the desk, occasional groans at a new fact the only proof he was still awake. 

“My last piece of advice is when in doubt at a formal dinner, use the cutlery starting from the inside and work your way out,”

“What the quiznak,” Lance was suddenly sitting straight up and angry, “That's the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard. That’s- It’s- No! You're with me on this right Keith?”

“Uh, I guess,” Keith agreed.

“What? Do humans do something different?” Coran asked innocently.

“Yes!” Lance punctuated his words with big hand gestures, “You work from the outside in!”

“Well, that's illogical.”

Lances head made a hefty '_thunk' _ as it hit the desk in front of him and Keith had to hide a chuckle behind his hand. 

***

The day before the competition they went to Sendhada-da the name of the planet the Great Senhada would be held on. It seemed that everything on the planet was purpose-built for the event, and it reminded Keith of an Olympic village.

The planet was heavily forested with accommodation in the form of small cabins connected by winding paths. In the centre of the village was a huge arena, and surrounding it was an artificial mountain range with a designated spot for each couple to land their ship during the opening ceremony. 

The alien leading Keith and Lance’s private tour was small, lime green, and high strung. There was apparently a very tight schedule that they had to keep to, to ensure that none of the couples saw each other before the event.

“So this will be your cabin,” The alien said stopping in front of a cabin with 56 painted on its door. 

Keith and Lance shared a nervous glance before Lance went ahead, up the small steps, and opened the door.

“Whoa,” A breath escaped Lance as he entered the cabin and Keith soon understood why. 

The cabin reminded Keith of the type of sort of place that you talked about going to when you win the lotto. It was huge, with floor to ceiling windows and a hot tub in a private courtyard out the other side. The bed was massive, and instead of a shower there was a hot spring waterfall.

Lance opened the wardrobe and found it overflowing with clothes. Upon closer inspection, all of the clothes appeared to be surprisingly human-looking.

“Where did you get these clothes from?” Keith wasn't sure if Lance had said it or he had thought aloud. 

“We made them based on the brief you provided. Are they okay?” The alien seemed nervous.

“Better than okay!” Lance exclaimed a wide grin spread across his face, “This is fantastic! I have real clothes.”

Keith couldn’t help but smile, remembering all the times Lance had complained about their limited wardrobe. For a few moments, the room was quiet as Lance and Keith smiled at each other, surely lost in the same shared memories, before the alien broke the silence. 

“So this will be your room,” The alien reiterated, “It is the only place where you will not be recorded, and that includes the courtyard. But once you leave the front door everything is free game.”

“Okay,” Keith nodded somberly at the reminder that this wasn’t a holiday he had won from one of those pamphlets his second foster mum loved to look at but never bought a ticket from. 

“I guess it could be worse,” Lance chuckled, “At least we have somewhere to relax.”

“I guess,” Keith hummed.

A quiet alarm went off on the device the alien was holding, “Okay, now we must move on to the cafeteria.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time the competition begins!


	3. Initial Interviews

The entrance ceremony went without a hitch, at least from what Pidge could tell from the broadcast. Keith and Lance landed their ship perfectly on time, walked out together, and raised their held hands for the galaxy to see before the camera moved on to the next couple.

***

“They’re nearly on,” Allura's voice woke pidge from their nap and they immediately jumped up and ran to the lounge room. The opening ceremony for the Great Senhada had been fascinating but long, and Pidge, like everyone else, needed a nap after watching two vargas of TV for 40 seconds of Lance and Keith. Given their popularity, everyone had thought they might’ve gotten more screen time.

“I hoped we actually get to see them this time,” Hunk complained as Pidge walked into the room.

“Well it is the couple interviews, I’d be surprised if we didn’t,” Pidge replied.

“Shhhhhhh,” Allura hushed, “They’re about to be on.”

As if on cue the ads came to an end and a small orange alien who was hosting appeared on screen. “Welcome back viewers! The next couple on the couch are none other than two paladins of Voltron! The black paladin Keith and the red paladin Lance!”

The room burst into snickers at the indigent “Hey! How come Keith is first,” that could barely be heard in the background. 

The screen cut to the two boys squished together on a small blue catch.

“So how are you both feeling?” the voice behind the camera asks.

“Yeah, as good as we can,” Lance smiled wide, “It's been pretty uneventful so far, just the entrance ceremony and then waiting for this very exciting interview.”

“We believe you two know a few other couples at the Great Senhada.”

“Yes,” Keith spoke this time, “As paladins we have visited many planets and galaxies.” 

“God he’s so formal and awkward.” Pidge sighed.

“This is a great opportunity for us to catch up with friends we haven’t been able to see for a long time,” Lance smiled again, rescuing the interview.

“How long have you two known each other?”

“Well, we’ve been paladins together for what?” Lance thought for a moment, “3, nearly 4 decaphebes now. And we went to school together about 2 decaphebes before that.”

“And how long have the two of you been together?”

“Uhh, our 3 year anniversary is in June which means,” Lance squinted as he tried to do the conversion in his head. 

“June?” The presenter started to question before Keith spoke up. 

“Our 2 decaphebe anniversary was about 3 phebes ago.”

“Wow you’ve gotten good at that.” Lance seemed genuinely impressed. 

“Yeah, well the blade only uses standardized space-time so I’ve been using it a lot.” 

“Ahhh.”

“So, do you two believe that you can win this competition?” The presenter asked.

“Of course,” Lance grinned, “No one loves like humans.”

“And we’re paladins of Voltron, which has to help,” Keith added.

“See we’re even finishing each other's sentences,” Lance smirked, “We’re practically married.” 

“Married?” The presenter pressed for more information.

“Uh,” Lance thought for a moment, “When you get married you have a wedding, which is a human ceremony where you declare your everlasting love for each other in front of all your closest friends and family. After the wedding you are considered as married.”

“So why aren’t you two married?” The presenter asks, and everyone in the castleship seemed to hold their breath, watching the screen intently.

“Well there just hasn’t been the time,” Lance answers casually, “between all of the planet-saving ya know.”

Everyone seems to breathe again as the interview cuts to just Lance on the couch.

“Have you ever thought about asking Keith to marry you?” The voice behind the camera asks Lance.

“Yeah, of course. But it’s just not practical you know.” Lance looked away from the camera for a moment before continuing, “Besides, we know we love each other, what does it matter who else knows.” 

“Wow, that was surprisingly sincere,” Allura commented.

“Yeah,” Shiro hummed in agreement as Keith appeared on the screen in Lance’s place, “they’re actually doing a really good job selling it.”

“Well of course I’ve thought about marriage,” Keith responds, the question cut from the show, “But I know it would kill Lance to have such an important event without his family. Family is so important to him... no matter how much he’d pretend it’s fine I know it would eat at him every day that they missed it.” 

Keith looked down for a few moments, eyes squinting, mouth opening and closing a couple of times. His voice was soft when he continued.

“I’ve never told him this, but I always thought I’d ask him when we got back to earth. It’d be the first thing I do when we reach his family home. Right in the doorway so everyone could see.” 

Keith suddenly looked at the camera, eyes just slightly wet. Almost as if he was caught saying something he wasn’t supposed to.

“Jesus,” Hunk attempted to covertly wipe a tear from the corner of his eye, “When did Keith get so...”

“Sappy?” Pidge offered.

“I was going to say romantic.” 

“I think he always has been a bit like that,” Shiro offered, “He just doesn’t show that side of himself very often.” 

“So what are you most looking forward to?” The presenter asked, and they were both back on the couch.

“Absolutely everything,” Lance immediately started gushing, “Getting to know all the other couples, the exciting events, the bed. The bed. Have you guys seen the bed we have? It looks amazing. Even has enough pillows for Mr. Six Pillows over here.”

“How about you Keith?”

“Hopefully we will have the time to relax a bit. I can’t remember the last time we had a holiday.”

With that, the interview ended and the small orange alien returned. “Well, that was our first interview with Keith and Lance the human couple.”

“Extra scenes from the interview will be available in 2 vargras for premium supporters. To become a premium supporter of Keith and Lance simply sign up for the low low price of 29.99 GAC. Premium supporters get access to extra’s, deleted scenes, and their live stream.”

“We’re getting premium right ‘lura?” Hunk asked.

“No,” Allura answered flatly.

“WHAT!” “Why not!” “Why do you hate us?” Hunk, Coran, and Pidge exclaimed at once.

“Because I’ve already gotten it.” Allura’s smirked, “Did that while you lot were sleeping.”

“That’s just cruel,” Hunk scowled at Allura. 

“So have they got anything good up yet?” Coran asked.

“Let's see,” Shiro responded, grabbing the remote. 

***

“That was a lot.” Keith sighed, melting into the couch in their cabin.

“You're not wrong,” Lance responded from the kitchen where he was making tea, “That was a lot for me, and I’m me.”

Keith chuckled, “I don’t think this is going to be as easy as we thought.”

“Yeah, but it’s so worth it.” Lance declared as he handed Keith his cup of alien tea, “I mean that fridge is stocked and did you see the wardrobe? At this point, I don’t think there's anything they could do to make this not worth it.” 

“For once you might be right,” Keith smirked, “I think these are the nicest jeans I have ever worn.”

“Trust you to still go for skinny jeans and a T-shirt.” Lance grinned, “There’s a sheer fur-edged robe in there with my name all over it.”

“Why? So if I get murdered people know it was you, the housewife?” Keith asked laughing.

“They don’t need a sexy robe to know I’m the murderer,” Lance laughed, nudging Keith with his shoulder. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So it's been a *long* time since the last update. But life has been crazy, but with the quarantine I now actually have some time to write again. 
> 
> It's a bit of a short one this time, but hopefully you guys like it. I'm terrible at editing so let me know if I missed anything :)


	4. The first challenge

Keith woke up the next morning thinking about Lance. It had become a regular occurrence since returning to Voltron but something about having him  _ just there _ made it a thousand times worse. Rather than lay in bed and listen to Lance breathe, Keith got, had a shower, and tried to forget about every other time he woke up in bed with Lance. 

By the time Lance got up Keith had finished his shower and was eating breakfast. Lance came into the main room and went about making breakfast. Neither talked or really looked at one another. 

It felt like every day they made a little progress towards maybe being okay, but the next morning they were always reset. Though when he’s being honest Keith thought it seemed more like they would just forget they are supposed to hate each other. 

***

The arena was massive. 

“I think this is the biggest building I’ve ever been in,” Lance whispered to Keith.

“Does it count as a building without a roof?”

“Welcome everybody to the first challenge of the Great Senhada.” The orange alien Keith recognised from the interviews the day before announced before Lance could respond, suddenly appearing on large screens around the arena. 

In front of the pair sat rows and rows of bars sitting maybe 3 meters above a large pool of water, which looked to be the size of at least 3 football fields put together. All of the couples stood in a giant circle around the outskirts of the arena. 

“Is everyone ready for the first challenge?” The presenter called out to the couples, to which the group responded with uproarious cheering and clapping. 

“This is a physical challenge to test your stamina and endurance.” Keith felt Lance relax next to him at the challenge, “Each team will have to hang off their bar and if one half of the couple falls the couple is out. We don’t mind how you hang but the majority of your body must be below the bar."

“You must be touching your partner in some way at all times. Losing contact means disqualification. You must last 10 at least doboshes not to be disqualified. Each bar is numbered the same as your cabin and you have 5 doboshes to find your bar and talk strategy. Time starts NOW” 

As soon as the alien finished talking the arena exploded into activity. 

“Hold onto a bar for 15 mins, easy peasy.” Lance smiled at Keith as they started walking around the bars looking for the 50’s. 

“Yeah,” Keith agreed, “I was thinking if we hooked feet that would satisfy the physical contact while having minimal impact on our ability to hang on.”

They only just found the bar numbered with 56 before a countdown started on the large screens, signifying only 10 ticks until the challenge started. Keith and Lance looked at each other and nodded before grabbing onto the bar and hooking feet just before the countdown came to an end.

A few couples were immediately knocked out, their faces flashing across the large screens. 

“I bet someone will be sleeping on the couch over that,” Keith commented.

Lance let out a short sharp laugh before nudging Keith with his hip, “Don’t make me laugh, or I’ll fall and you’ll be the one sleeping on the couch.” 

“As if,” Keith snorted but decided to focus anyway.

The next 10 doboshes felt like an eternity. By the time the challenge was over Keith's entire arms were exhausted, and he was so grateful he had been working on chin-ups lately.

“If the challenges keep going like this we’ll have a winner by the end of the week.” Lance commented as they walked out of the arena, both rubbing at their arms “At least a quarter of the couples must’ve been knocked out.”

“Yeah,” Keith hummed in reply, “Coran did say it’d last a whole month, but it wouldn’t be the first time Coran’s data was out of date.”

As the pair walked out of the arena a small lilac alien called out to them. The two shared a confused look before heading over.

"Listen, I know you humans like your privacy, but you can't be spending all day in your room." The alien fixed them with a stern look, "We need to get enough footage of each couple every day, so you'll have to stay out and about until at least dinner time."

"Oh," Lance seemed surprised, "okay, we can do that."

"Yeah, I was going to hit the gym anyway."

“The gym?” Lance asked incredulously, “After our arms just got decimated?”

“Yeah, well the rest of me is still good.”

“You're ridiculous,” Lance rolled his eyes, they turned back to the alien to find he’d already walked away. “I guess that is that then.”

"I almost forgot every single thing we're doing is being broadcast live all across the galaxy," Keith commented, suddenly feeling a desire for privacy.

"Yeah," Lance hummed in agreement, "we're usually in the public eye, but not quite like this. Like even this conversation is being recorded."

Lance looked around wildly as if expecting to see a cameraman watching them from behind a tree.

"Keith! Lance!" A voice called from behind them making Lance jump and Keith laugh in response. It was Rax, Shay's brother, and his wife Sam.

"Oh hey, good to see you!" Lance wrapped both Rax and Sam in a hug that neither of them seemed to want. “I didn’t realise you two were here.” 

“Well someone had to represent Balmera,” Rax smirked, "And who better than us."

"Good point," Lance smiled in return, "Just prepare to come second."

The group laughed for a few moments before Sam spoke up, "We were actually just thinking of going to the beach if you two wanted to join?"

"We'd love too," Lance smiled wide and wrapped an arm around Keith.

"Actually," Keith peeled Lance's arm off him, "I want to hit up the gym. But you guys are free to go."

"That actually sounds better," Rax agreed nodding at Keith before turning to Sam, "how about you and Lance go to the beach while Keith and I hit up the gym?"

"Yeah, that’s okay."

"Cool."

"Sounds good."

With the consensus of the group, they split into two. Sam and Lance heading back to the cabins to get changed before hitting the beach, and Keith and Rax heading straight to the gym.

***

A couple of hours later Lance was feeling thoroughly relaxed and well tanned. 

"We should probably go stop Keith and Rax from working themselves to death." Lance sighed.

"Ugh," Sam groaned, "I suppose. I could just lay here forever though"

“Agreed.” Lance hummed.

The two continued to lay on the beach for another couple of minutes before finally getting up and heading to the gym.

When they finally got to the gym Lance wasn't sure if he stepped into a gym or a desert, because his mouth was dry and he was  _ thirsty _ .

Rax and Keith were sparring, but at some point, Keith thought it was appropriate to take off his shirt and tie up his hair. Which it was NOT. Shirtless, pony-tail Keith was 100% NSFW in Lance's opinion. 

Lance had always loved watching Keith fight, and it had been  _ so long _ . Sweat dripped down well-toned muscles as Keith struck at Rax before quickly jumping out of the way of the returning strike. Something about watching Keith so completely in his element, confident, almost cocky, really did it for Lance.

Every inch of Keith was glistening in sweat. His every move was graceful and deliberate. Lance couldn't work out if Keith's time in the blade had somehow made him even fitter, or he had just forgotten how damn fine Keith was.

It was at that moment the pair noticed Lance and Sam's presence. When Keith turned to look straight at Lance, his eyes narrowed with determination as they always were during a fight, Lance knew he was well and truly fucked.

***

Lance and Keith spent the rest of the day barely talking to each other. 

Keith couldn't look at Lance without remembering those eyes full of want that he had worn in the gym. While it was nice to know he could still have that effect on Lance, seeing Lance look at him like that had completely fucking destroyed him.

It took Keith back to every other time Lance had looked at him like that. When it would fill him with excitement and start a fire in his gut. When he couldn't believe that someone like Lance, the gorgeous, brilliant Lance, could look at him like that. But today it only served as a bitter reminder of what he had lost.

Keith knew that just because Lance still somehow found him attractive didn't mean anything would happen between them. That things were still beyond ruined.

It was all Keith could hope that he could eventually make it up to Lance enough that they could be friends again. But Keith wasn't sure if he really wanted that, and if he did want it if he could handle it.

Could he ever deal with being  _ just _ friends with Lance, and nothing more?

While he wanted to say they had been just friends at one point, something in him said that had never really been the case. There had always been something more between them, even when they didn't realize it. And maybe there always would be. Maybe it would always be an all or nothing situation. 

Hopefully tomorrow will be easier. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm pretty sure last time I said I was hoping to start writing more regularly again, and we all saw how well that turned out. But I am planning to start doing more writing and hopefully updating more frequently than once every 3 months 😅
> 
> Anyway, hope you enjoyed and all feedback welcome 😁


	5. Smoochin'

In Pidge’s humble opinion, yesterday’s challenge had been boring. So very, very boring. 

Watching two guys hang from a pole? Boring.

Today's challenge on the other hand? Premium juiciness. According to all the ad’s the challenge would be for the pair to kiss.  Simple but devious, and Pidge was 100% there for it.

Now, there was something about the idea of Lance and Keith, who were practically Pidge’s brothers at this point, kissing which deeply squicked Pidge out. But it also seemed like the perfect opportunity to collect blackmail material, so they would suffer through it. 

Pidge sat next to Hunk on the couch as the TV blared.

“Welcome back to the second day of challenges!” The now-familiar orange alien announced, “Today we have the much-awaited KISS!!”

“Woo?” “Yeah!” The Voltron crew cheered from the couch. 

“Do you think this is where they get kicked out?” Hunk asked, “Or do you think they’ll actually kiss?”

“I don’t know what would be worse,” Shiro grimaced, “Keith is practically my little brother. I don’t care who he kisses, I just don’t want to see it.”

“Close your eyes then,” Pidge said, “because I think this is going to be fantastic”

Allura let out a long-suffering sigh, “I just hope they can do it and don’t get sent home.”

Before anyone else could say any more the alien delivered the news they had all been waiting for, “We are about to cross live to the Human pair, Keith and Lance. Let's see how they go!”

The camera cut to Keith and Lance who appeared to be waiting in a hallway, talking to each other in hushed voices, when the presenter approached them.

“So are you both ready for the next challenge?”

“You know we are,” Lance smirked.

“Good, and I hope your human lips are ready. Because today’s challenge is simple.” The alien paused for drama, “You just. Have. To. Kiss!”

“Oh,” Lance paled, “easy peasy.”

“Now don’t kiss yet,” The alien chuckled, “Beyond this door is a room prepared for the finest Earth romance. But remember, there are cameras hidden throughout the room, so don’t do anything beyond kissing. Unless you want all of your friends and family to see it.”

The alien laughed and slapped Keith's back, who had appeared to go a shade of light green. “Thanks. I wanted to be reminded that absolutely everyone is watching my every move.”

"That they certainly are, so go in there, and as the humans say," the alien paused to wink at the screen, "get freaky."

*** 

Keith followed Lance into a room with deep red walls, miscellaneous draping, and in the centre of the room sat a huge bed with silk sheets. 

Keith could feel his pulse hammering just under his skin. Of course, he had kissed Lance before, but it had nearly been a year at this point, and it’d never been broadcast on TV before. Keith had really hoped today would be easier than yesterday, but apparently the universe had other plans.

Keith caught Lance's eye and instinctively bit his bottom lip as he saw Lance’s tongue flick out and run across his bottom lip. The pair looked at each other for a tense moment. 

“So…” Lance cleared his throat, “Just a quick kiss? We can do that yeah?”

“Yeah,” Keith tried to stay cool but could feel the blood rushing to his cheeks, “It’ll be over before it begins.”

“Yeah, okay,” Lance sounded nervous, “Then let's do it.”

Keith barely had time to take a deep, steadying breath before Lance had swooped in and landed a quick kiss on his lips.  Then, as quickly as they had appeared, Lance's lips were gone, and Keith couldn't help but feel an overwhelming sense of emptiness.

"Oh, come on," the voice of the presenter came over the intercom, "I'm gonna need more than that."

Keith felt his heart pounding in his chest as he gave a nervous nod before leaning back in. 

Lance’s lips were just as warm and delicate as Keith remembered, this kiss was gentle but longing. He tried his best to ignore the red hot desire growing within him, but couldn’t resist moving a hand up to Lance's cheek. Lance sighed into the kiss at the contact, and for a short moment, Kieth had forgotten completely about his situation and instead indulged himself in a moment of perfection.

They both seemed to remember themselves and stepped away from each other at the same time. Luckily the intercom burst to life once again, declaring the challenge passed. 

The pair left the room and headed to the post-challenge interview room, neither looking at the other for the entire journey. 

***

“Damn,” Hunk sighed, applauding for some reason, “I have no idea why we doubted them. They can for sure put on a show.”

“Agreed,” Allura’s cheeks were dusted pink from witnessing such intimacy for what Pidge assumed was the first time. 

Pidge, on the other hand, was feeling deeply uncomfortable. Something about the well-acted sincerity and emotion of the kiss had their stomach twisting in knots. Pidge always liked to think they knew all the pertinent details of their friend's lives, but something was telling them they were missing some important puzzle pieces regarding Keith and Lance’s relationship.

“Well, I’m glad you lot enjoyed the display,” Shiro’s voice was flat as if he was trying to detach himself from the situation, “I am going to find some alien bleach to pour into my eyes.”

Allura heartily agreed and followed Shiro from the room.

No one seemed able to stomach watching the interview, but Coran promised to record it so they could later if anyone wanted.

***

According to the reports displayed on large screens throughout the day, a large number of couples had been lost to the kiss challenge. Either made up couples unable to fake it, or couples from a much more private and reserved culture who couldn't care to be so affectionate in such .

The rest of the day Keith and Lance scarcely glanced at each other, despite staying close for the majority of the day. Every time Keith caught Lance's eye he could feel his cheeks burn and a fire within him lit. 

When they finally got to the privacy of their cabin at the end of the day Keith couldn’t help but feel like the tension that had been between them increased exponentially and it sparked like electricity in the air when their eyes met. For a long moment, they just stood captured by the others' gaze.

Then, all of a sudden Keith had Lance pushed against a wall, and Lance had wrapped his long legs around Keith’s waist pulling him close as the pair kissed. Keith didn’t know who moved first, but it hardly mattered to him any more. The kiss they shared that morning had been gentle and hesitant, but this kiss was anything but. It was fierce and hungry, and it asked questions neither of them were prepared to answer yet.

Instead of stopping to talk about what they were doing, as Keith knew they should, Lance's shirt was removed and Keith's pants undone.

Keith turned to throw Lance onto the couch, and Lance took a shaky breath when he landed. He always loved being manhandled. Pride burned in Keith at still being able to have this effect on a gorgeous being such as Lance. 

Kisses peppered tanned skin. Long fingers pulled dark hair.

Keith was pleased to find that the body he had once known so well hadn’t changed in the time since he was last allowed to revel in it like this. When Lance grabbed Keith by the hips to flip them over, leaving Lance on top, Keith couldn’t help but dig his nails into Lance’s sides and Lance whispered in a hot breathy voice, directly into Keith's ear, “Just like always.”

“What are we doing?” Keith asked when he finally had enough clarity of mind.

“Doesn’t matter,” Lance breathed, and with that, all of Keith's remaining resolve fled and he knew from experience they wouldn’t make it to the bed that night. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've got half of the next chapter done and I now know roughly how long this will be so hopefully the next chapter won't be too far away!
> 
> Tried my hand at some mild smut, hopefully it came across as sexy and not too awkward :p


	6. The calm before the storm

In Pidges humble opinion the two challenges following the kiss challenge had been increasingly boring; a physical strength challenge followed by an endurance challenge. However, the most recent challenge, a protective challenge, was much more interesting. 

To protect each other from unwelcome advances in a party setting, while still talking to a range of people and not appearing overbearing was an interesting challenge, and Pidge was in awe of how the hosts had managed to come up with a perfectly acceptable scoring system. 

As expected, Keith occasionally reacted more harshly than necessary, and Lance tended to flirt too liberally, but in general, the pair did far better than expected by the crew in the castleship. Keith's aggression came across more protective than angry, and Lance's flirtations somehow still respect his apparent relationship. It came across as the liberties one could take when happily secure in a long term relationship, not as the actions of an irredeemable flirt. 

The team had a few minutes of ads before the interview would start, Hunk had returned just in time with a large bowl of popcorn substitute. “They did really well on this challenge,” Hunk commented as he sat down.

“I wouldn’t expect any less,” Coran replied, twirling his moustache with one hand, “I mean they are paladins, being aware of where your comrades are and what they are doing is part of the job.” 

“Very true,” Allura agreed, “And they were our top pair for recon and infiltration missions, I imagine they have a lot of practice watching out for each other.”

“Their excellent performance during the Great Senhada is surely a testament to their abilities,” Coran nodded, “They were always a very dependable pair to send on quests for rare objects and ingredients.”

“Yeah, it wasn’t really until Keith left that I really noticed how often they had been going on missions together,” Hunk admitted.

“It felt like all of a sudden Lance was around 24/7,” Pidge chuckled.

“Well they were away on missions more often than Shiro and I went on diplomatic missions, and it felt like we were constantly away,” Allura added.

“Agreed,” Shiro said, “I was worried we were sending them on too many missions at one point, but they didn’t seem to mind. I guess they eventually got over that rivalry of there's.”

“I’m not sure about that,” Hunk laughed, “Just a week before Keith left I caught the pair racing to see who could eat a bowl of food goo the fastest.”

“Yeah,” Pidge agreed, laughing, “I once caught them doing the beep test of all things in the training room.” 

“The beep test?” Allura asked but Pidge just waved her off.

“They were so competitive,” Shiro smiled, “I guess they just got on better than we realised.”

“I suppose,” Pidge nodded, but couldn’t place an odd feeling that they were missing something.

A hush then fell over the group as the TV started up again and cut to Lance and Keith sitting on the now-familiar couch.

“You two did astonishingly well at that challenge,” the voice behind the camera sounded actually impressed, “Why do you think that is?”

“Well, it's just practice.” Lance began with an easy smile, “We’ve had to travel a lot and go to all sorts of events for our work, often with the possibility of someone in the room wanting to kill us. So we quickly learnt how to keep an eye on each other without being too over the top.”

“Well some of us quickly learnt,” Keith smirked, “One of us was too busy flirting, and the locals had me tied on a stick over a fire before he noticed anything had happened.”

“Hey!” Lance's voice was full of indignation, but he was still smiling, “That was a long time ago.” 

Keith just laughed in response.

“You once nearly let me get sold to a titty bar.”

Keith just laughed harder, leaning on the arm of the chair for support. It looked like he was trying to say something but no one could tell what.

***

The last few days had been fairly good to Keith. The challenges weren’t ridiculously hard, and he felt like he and Lance were starting to get along better. They hadn’t so much as kissed again since the other night, but something between them shifted, like they both knew there was something there and now just had to figure out what they wanted to do about it.

Keith still loved Lance, he always had and probably always would, and Lance still felt  _ something _ for Keith. But that didn’t mean they could be together. Keith knew that. Keith was going back to the blade and couldn’t break Lance’s heart again. Or his own heart for that matter. 

So what option did he have but to suffer through it? 

Keith loved lance with every fibre of his being, but love alone wasn’t enough. Keith understood that now. No matter what the challenge said Keith couldn’t protect Lance when it mattered.

Lance would be better off without him. 

Keith got out of the shower, where he had been pondering, now determined not to let pretty eyes and sweet smiles destroy his resolve. As he got ready he silently prayed that today would be another physical challenge. They were the easiest. None of that emotional shit, please and thank-you.

“What's bothering you?” Lance asked when Keith got out of the bathroom.

“What?” Keith asked, feeling like a deer caught in headlights.

“You only have long showers when something is bothering you,” Lance smiled knowingly, “So what is it?”

“Oh,” Keith felt his cheeks heat up before he smoothly lied, “Just keen to get home, you know? Looking forward to not having to do any more of these challenges.”

“Agreed,” Lance hummed, but his eyes still sparkled knowingly, and Keith worried his lie hadn’t been as smooth as he had hoped. “But you better get your shoes on or we’ll be late for today's challenge.”

“Fantastic,” Keith rolled his eyes and Lance laughed.

The walk to the arena was quiet. There was now only a small portion of the original couples left and the wide hallways felt empty without them. 

When they finally entered the arena they found it full of rows of large metal boxes, at least 2 meters in each dimension. In front of them sat one of the metal boxes but opened completely up, so it laid flat on the ground. In the centre sat a pillar with a large blue glowing crystal atop it. 

“Good morning everyone,” the familiar presenter greeted the couples, “Are you all ready for today’s challenge?”

The group cheered in response.

“Today's challenge is simple but some of you will find it incredibly difficult.” The presenter paused for effect, “This crystal is programmed to detect lies and secrets. If there are any secrets between yourself and your partner it will glow red. Once there are none it will glow blue and you will have completed the challenge.”

Keith gulped thickly, so much for an easy physical challenge.

“Now if you have many secrets that's okay, you will only need to share your biggest secret. The crystal will see what you believe to be the most important secret to be the biggest, so don’t worry about any of that.”

“Since we do, actually, care about your privacy each couple will be placed in one of these great metal boxes, where no one from the outside world will be able to find out what you are talking about. But you won’t be able to leave until the crystal is blue.” 

“Unless, of course, you decide to forfeit,” the presenter smiled devilishly, “In which case, there is a button on the wall of the cube which will immediately open the cube and remove you from the competition.”

With that, the couples were released to find their new metal prisons and Keith felt as though he was walking towards his certain death. What was he going to say to Lance? How could he say anything to Lance?

When they were locked into their box the crystal immediately burned bright red and Keith wasn’t sure what to do. Both avoided each other's gaze for what felt like hours but couldn’t have been more than a few minutes. 

“I feel like you left because you wanted an excuse to break up.” It came out of nowhere and hit Keith like a sledgehammer to the chest.

Lance was standing across the room from him with tears in his eyes, and Keith had no idea what to do. 

“No, no that's not it at all,” Keith finally breathed, “I loved you, I still do, I just-”

Keith took a deep breath and tried to figure out a way to explain himself without being misconstrued. 

“I didn’t want to break up, quite the opposite in fact. I just couldn’t stand being with you any more.” Keith met Lance’s eyes, now bathed in the blue light of the crystal and immediately knew that had been the wrong way to phrase it. 

“Oh.” Lance's voice was acid, and as the walls of their previous prison opened up Keith felt his stomach drop.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoy this one!
> 
> :D Next chapter not too far away.


	7. The storm

Everyone sat on the edge of their seats as they watched Keith and Lances ‘Truth Chamber’ begin to open up. They were one of the last pairs to be released, some released immediately since they had no secrets between them. As the group saw the walls open up to reveal an absolutely livid looking Lance and a Keith who looked no happier, Allura whispered “oh no” at the same time Shiro murmured “this isn’t going to be pretty.”

“Oh ho, look at this,” The presenter's voice announced gleefully, as the camera zoomed into Keith and Lance and their audio began to be broadcasted, “Looks like trouble in paradise.”

“After all this time! After everything we’ve been through! You still think I'm so much less than you!” Lance yelled, and even through the camera, they could see tears prick at the corners of his eyes.

“That's not what I meant! I didn’t mean it to come out that way!” Keith yelled back but Lance was hardly paying attention. Instead, he looked around feverishly before spotting one of the facilitating aliens walking past and promptly snatched whatever piece of equipment the alien was holding out of their hands and immediately chucked it at Keith. Keith easily stepped out of its path and the object smashed into pieces behind him.

“I’m not good at this stuff!” Keith continued to yell, completely unaffected by having things thrown at him, “You know me!”

“Oh, I know you all right,” Lance's voice was consumed with bitterness as he ripped another object from another alien, “Perfect Ketih! Couldn’t bear to even be seen with someone so inferior!”

“I never once thought of you that way!”

“You already didn’t want to own up to our relationship!” 

“EXCUSE ME!” 

The item was thrown.

“Then it was finally too much to even fight alongside me! You were ashamed of me!” Lances declaration was punctuated by the item hitting the ground.

“How DARE you!” It was Keith's turn to seeth, “That was not the case and you know it!” 

“Oh really!”

“Yes!” It was Keith's turn to throw something, and he grabbed the broken item from the floor next to him and threw it back at Lance. “And if I was going to leave you due to shame it wouldn’t be because of your fighting!” 

“Oh?!!” Lance grabbed at another item, not bothering to detach the alien carrying it first, and threw it, alien and all, at Keith, “Then which of my many fucking faults would you have left me because of?”

“Because you eat ramen with a FUCKING KNIFE AND FORK!” the small alien hit the ground behind Keith and bounced in a way that Pidge would have found hilarious in any other circumstance. 

“Oh!” Lance was incensed, “This again!”

“It's abhorrent!”

“FUCK YOU!”

“USE A SPOON!”

“NEVER!”

The two stood for a moment looking at each other, chests heaving with exhaustion. 

“Well then,” Lance continued, still sounding bitter but significantly calmer, “If you didn’t leave from a desire for a convenient excuse to break up. And by ‘ couldn’t stand being with you’ you don’t mean you're ashamed of me. What the ever-loving  **fuck ** do you mean?”

“I just-, I-,” Keith took a steadying breath and all of a sudden Pidge felt as if they were intruding on an exceedingly private moment, “I know this is selfish and stupid. But I just- I just couldn’t keep seeing you get hurt. I couldn’t bear it.”

In a single moment, all the fight seemed to leave Lance, “What?”

“You're a great fighter, really. As good as I am if not better,” Keith smiled fondly, “Don’t tell Shiro but I think you would even beat him at hand to hand these days.”

“Noooo,” Lance chuckled.

“But during battles, you would get hurt. So very, very hurt. And I thought it would get easier, but it didn’t.” Keith swallowed thickly, “Every time I saw you hurt I wanted to cry, and every time I thought I might lose you my heart broke. And then you- y-you threw yourself in front of that bullet for me. For  _ me _ . And I couldn’t do it any longer. I'd rather never see you again than see you die protecting me.”

“So you left.”

“Yes.”

“Your right, that was selfish.”

“I know!” Keith had tears in his eyes, “I was selfish and weak, and I knew you would be able to move on. You would do so much better without me.”

“No. Not this fucking shit again.” Lance was exasperated, “I’ve told you 1000 times that I don’t need anyone else. I don’t  **want** anyone else. Allura could offer herself up naked on a golden platter and I wouldn’t care.”

Keith continued to stare at the ground indignantly.

“Why can’t you just accept that it's  **you** I want?” Lance’s voice was tired, and Pidge got the distinct feeling they’d been over this part of the argument before, “You’re worth so much to me. I don’t care about your past, and everyone else you’ve ever known has been wrong to make you feel this way. I wish I could get rid of this fucked up sense of self-worth you have, this-”

Lance came to an abrupt halt as something seemed to dawn on him. The brief moment of confusion was quickly replaced by absolute fury once again, and Keith stumbled a step back in response.

“Do you mean to tell me,” Lance was seething, “That I can't get hurt, but you should throw yourself into danger for my sake because I would be better off without you?”

“Well-” Keith started but Lance cut him off, stalking closer to his opponent.

“That it was okay for you to leave because I would be able to find someone else? That it was okay for you to go to the blade and put yourself in immeasurable danger because it would mean I was in less danger? Because your life meant less than mine? Less than anyone else’s?”

“Well, it's not like you even needed me for Voltron,” Keith's voice was bitter but unsure.

“Jesus fucking christ red!” Lance was rubbing his face, “What if we wanted you around? What if I needed you around?”

“I just couldn’t face it any more,” Kieth was obstinate, “You weren’t there, you don’t know what it was like waiting outside your pod for days after you sacrificed yourself for  **me** , not knowing if you’d ever come out.”

“You think I never went through anything like that?” Lance asked incredulously, “Then I have two words for you. Balthreza 5.”

Pidge looked around the room and no one else seemed to know what Lance was referring to, but the way Keith shrunk back meant he obviously did.

“That was my own personal fucking nightmare. Thanks for asking.” And like the end of a yawn, all the breath seemed to leave Lance at once, “I also thought of leaving after that. I considered burning our ships so we would be stuck there, and you would never be able to put yourself in harm's way again. But instead, I just focussed on getting better, becoming able to protect you better. Becoming the best fighter to ever live, your words not mine. But tell me. Did your plan work? Were you able to forget all about me? Live the self-sacrificing life you always wanted?”

“No. it fucking sucked.” Keith also sounded tired, “I worried about you all the time, I lied awake at night hoping you weren't in a fucking pod, or worse. The only solace I had was thinking that you had hopefully moved on, and were able to flirt with any alien you wanted and get all the affection you deserved.”

“And that helped?”

“Of course not! It made my blood curdle thinking of you with someone else. What if they didn’t treat you right? What if they let you sacrifice yourself for them, as you once would for me? What if they didn’t know to make you a hot chocolate after you had a nightmare? Or to rub your shoulders when you were stressed?” 

“Well, then you’ll be glad to know there was never anyone else. I tried, lord knows I tried to find someone else but they could never hold up.” Lance admitted, and Keith looked surprised, “They would be gentle when they should be brash, or they wouldn’t be soft when they should. They would let me get away with things when they should have teased me for it. They just. weren’t. you.”

“Oh,” Keith seemed unsure what to say and for a long moment, silence fell between the pair.

The presenter cut in front of the action suddenly and the whole room booed, Hunk even threw some popcorn at the screen. “On grounds of admitting that they’ve been broken up this entire time Keith and Lance are eliminated,” the signature elimination sound played, “But we thank them for the grand entertainment.”

At the announcement both Keith and Lance seemed to realise where they were, looking around with bright red faces. Pidge could see Lance say ‘Whoops’ to Keith, rubbing the back of his head and Keith just looked at the ground, the tips of his ears bright red. 

The room sat in silence. The presenter moved on to talk about the other couples but no one was paying any attention. 

"Well that wasn't what I expected," Hunk finally broke the silence and everyone seemed to nod in agreement. 

"Where the fuck is Blathreza 5?" Pidge asked, trying to begin to put the many pieces of information together.

"It's a small planet in the Balth system." Coran replied, "I don't believe we have ever entered the system, but I think Lance and Keith had a couple of missions nearby which may have taken them that way."

"Is that why I used to go through so much hot chocolate?" Hunk asked aloud to no one in particular.

“Wait,” Allura addressed the room, “Are we saying that for who knows how long Keith and Lance have  _ actually _ been dating?”

“I guess,” Hunk responded, “I just can’t believe they didn’t tell me.”

“Or me,” Shiro added.

“How did we not know?” Pidge asked, running their hands down their face.

“Wait, you all didn’t know?” Coran asked, earning him a set of incredulous looks, “I thought we were just being polite about it. That would explain a lot though.”

“You knew!” Allura was scandalised, “How? Did they tell you?”

“No, no no.” Coran waved his hands dismissively, “When they came back from a mission with their auras joined I knew they had to have gotten married on one of the arboreal planets. Since Lance wasn’t complaining, and no one else mentioned it, I just assumed I missed an announcement.”

“What! No!” Hunk exclaimed.

“Wait, you can see auras?” Pidge asked, “Can you do that as well Allura?”

“Well yes, not as well as Coran but I would’ve thought I’d notice… Oh,” Allura blushed, “I’ve been a fool.”

“I think we all have,” Shiro sighed. The group then fell into silence as they tried to reconcile this new information about their close friends.

“Wait, you don’t think that has anything to do with why the pair of them would giggle every time they walked into the kitchen for, like, a month?”

“God I hope not.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No aliens were harmed in the making of this chapter


	8. Happily ever after

When Keith and Lance got back to the castle ship they were both emotionally exhausted. 

They had spent the whole trip talking things out and for the first time, maybe ever, they were on the same page. For once they actually had good communication. Keith wasn’t sure how things would turn out, but they had a plan, and he was confident they could make it work. 

But for now, Keith just wanted to crawl into bed and deal with everything else tomorrow. He and Lance were good for once, and that's all that really mattered. 

When Keith stepped out of the ship and saw everyone from the castleship waiting for them he had to suppress a groan. He loved them all, but he was acutely aware that they had just found out that he and Lance had been in a secret relationship for years and Keith was tired. In every sense of the word. 

The two groups looked at each other for a long moment, no one was quite sure what to say first. 

“I’m so glad you guys came home safe,” Hunk finally broke, wrapping the pair up in a giant bear hug.

“Of course,” Lance grinned, “I don’t know why you ever would’ve doubted us.”

“I never doubted you,” Hunk said with mock offence as he released the pair from his crushing grip, “I had money on you two winning.”

“We probably would’ve won too,” Lance said, his tone teasing, “If it wasn’t for  _ someone's _ emotional outbursts.”

“Oh, fuck you,” Keith shoved Lance with a smile, “I don’t think I was the one with an emotional outburst this time.”

“This time,” Lance smirked, his tone was light and his eyes fond.

“Jesus Christ,” Pidge put their face in their hands, “How didn’t we notice, Lance has god damn heart eyes.”

“His eyes still look their normal shape to me,” Allura said, and Keith was too busy being embarrassed to pay attention to Pidge’s explanation. Looking over, Lance looked as bright red as Keith felt, but he also looked happy, and that was enough for Keith.

“I’m going to hit the hay,” Keith interrupted whatever was currently happening, “I’ll see y’all tomorrow morning.”

The group looked a little disappointed but didn’t argue, everyone saying their ‘goodnights’. Keith waved to the group and sent a single finger gun to Lance before stepping through the door into the hallway. 

As he walked the familiar path to his room, Keith silently hoped that Lance would deal with any awkward explanations for him tonight.

***

Keith's alarm didn’t go off the next morning, but Keith still only woke up a few minutes after it normally would have gone off. The routine was too deeply engraved in him now to let him sleep in. 

He was the last one to walk into the kitchen, and he felt the whole room's eyes on him. Their curious gazes asking what their new normal would be, waiting eagerly to see Keith and Lance’s morning routine with a new perspective. Keith had no idea what to say or do, and at that moment couldn’t think of what he would normally do. So he just sat down, in his usual seat next to Lance, and looked back at everyone. 

Luckily, at that moment Hunk and Coran declared breakfast was ready, setting plates of what appeared to be scrambled eggs in front of everyone. 

The food was delicious. It was so good. Keith thought he might be able to completely forget how awkward he was feeling and just concentrate on the deliciousness.

“Want a coffee?” Lance asked, knocking Keith from his thoughts.

“So much,” Keith smiled as Lance got up to make the pair's coffees.

“So I’m guessing you’ll be staying around for a bit?” Shiro asked, eyes hopeful.

“I’ll probably see the rest of the phebe out, but now that you’ve got a new arm I should probably be getting back to the blade.” Keith hated letting Shiro down almost as much as he hated having to leave Lance behind again. But he needed the blade, and the blade needed him. “But I’ll be visiting more often, and I’m going to see if I can get you guys helping out on more of our missions, so it should be a little different than before.”

“Oh, okay,” Shiro tried to hide his disappointment and Keith didn’t know how to assure him that it really was going to be different.

***

_ 2 phebes later _

It was a little surreal for Keith to be standing on a call with the blade from the castleship, he was nearly always on the other side of the screen. This time, however, Pidge and Hunk stood amongst the Galra, giving an update on how their upgrades to the Blade’s stealth ships were going. 

Keith and Lance were still covered in blue dirt, having just come back from one of Coran’s more dangerous fetch quests. They had been immediately ushered to the bridge on arrival for their weekly catch-up. 

“So were you two able to get the fleebhooper?” Shiro asked Keith and Lance when Pidge and Hunk had finished giving their report, definitely mispronouncing the thing's name.

“Of course,” Lance grinned widely, taking off his bag and throwing it to Coran, “How dare you doubt the power couple of the Voltron Coalition.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually finished something! :o I rarely finish writing things I start so it's amazing I actually got this chapter done. 
> 
> Thanks to everyone who left comments and kudos! They really mean so much to me and they were great motivation to actually finish this story instead of getting distracted by something new :P


End file.
